The problem of creating an apparatus of the herein described type has been brought about by the growing requirements of industries for means of automation of main and auxiliary production and handling operations, particularly, wherever the working environment is hard, monotonous or hazardous; and also when the range of manufactured articles is vast and frequently varied.
The present-day prerequisites for means of automation of production and handling operations include the ability to precisely position and orient a component in the working zone of various production plant, the versatility and maneuverability, and also ready adjustability for different articles and jobs.
Quite naturally, present-day means of automation shall not hamper the operating rate of the associated production equipment, i.e. they are expected to be of a high throughput themselves.
The above prerequisites are inherently related to the structural features of each specific means of automation. One of the present-day types of the means of automation and mechanization is a mechanical arm. The specific requirements to be met by a mechanical arm as a means of automation are the minimum weight of the links of the arm, the incorporability of any type of a drive, e.g. an electric drive, and the dynamic characteristics and maneuverability of the arm being uninfluenced by its mass and dimensions. Another specific requirement is the provision for arranging in the structure controllable kinematic connections of the desired degrees of freedom, to facilitate the control. The abovelisted tasks are attained in a mechanical arm in accordance with the presently disclosed invention.